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TEAM

President

Jean-Paul Schumann

Jean-Paul Schumann moved to the USA from Spain with his family in 2011. He previously worked in the tourism and hospitality Industry for over 20 years where he worked for prestigious companies such as Thomas Cook, TUI Plc and Fred Olsen SA. In 2011 he initiated Wine sales and distribution activities for several independent Family owned Wineries from Spain and Argentina as a US importer. In early 2012 he teamed and Partnered up with Mack & Schuhle AG, Central Europe’s largest Wine distribution Company to found US sister Import Company Mack & Schuhle Inc.

Jean-Paul Schuman is fluent in English, Spanish, German and Dutch.

Chief Operating Officer

Charles Poczik

Charles Poczik graduated from Florida State University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Multi-National Business Operations. He worked 5 years for The Container Store, which at the time was in the top 5 of Forbes 100 Best Companies to Work for in America.
As a Store Manager he drove sales, coached selling skills, developed employees and increased the profitability of one the highest volume stores in the company.

An affinity for entrepreneurship and a love for wine led him to accept an opportunity in January 2008 for a startup wine and spirits import management company, Surville Enterprises Corp., later purchased by the Castel Group. In his career at SEC, he served as Controller, Director of
Finance, and finally as Chief Operating Officer.

Charles began working with Jean-Paul Schumann and Mack and Schuhle in 2012, through Surville Enterprises. He officially joined the Mack and Schuhle team in January 2020 as COO responsible for Finance, Operations and Business Development.

Director of Sales – Western Region

Stephen Kelly

Stephen is a 20 year wine, spirits and private label veteran. Strong global supplier experience working for companies like Pernod Ricard, Allied Domecq and Constellation plus national roles with startup alcohol beverage companies. He has worked with all major distributors in the US. Driven, passionate and adept, Stephen resides in Valencia, California with his wife and son.
Broker – Midwest Region

Chad Pokorny

A Wisconsin native, Chad grew up working in the restaurant industry and brings 20+ years of experience to the Mack & Schühle team.

Chad has dedicated the last decade to focusing his career on wine sales ranging from brand, business, market development initiatives, expanding regions/ territory with wholesalers and suppliers as well as establishing distributors in new states. His work history includes building the Midwest region from the inception of Jamieson Ranch Vineyards followed by introducing wines from North Canterbury, New Zealand into the U.S. market for Mt. Beautiful Winery.

In 2016, he felt the next progression to his career was to venture out and create his own brokerage, “Good Guy Brands” to bring wines from around the world to the U.S. market. Through a mutual network and familiarity with Mack & Schühle’s portfolio, a business-partner relationship was created to expand the Midwest region.

During free time, you can find Chad with his family and friends, hitting the links or relaxing on the lake. Of course, you can also find him rooting for the Green Bay Packers.

Supply Chain & Logistics Analyst

Velyka Camacho

2001 was the year that brought Velyka Camacho ashore from Venezuela. Her educational background is in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Her journey in the export and import fields began 10 years ago with NVOCC, freight forwarding companies. She began working and gaining multi-department experiences in the areas of customer service, global trade compliance, administration and management support. She found herself most drawn to and driven by logistics and operations when she began working in the perishable distribution in the pineapple market.
In the second quarter of 2020, Velyka had the opportunity to join the Mack and Schuhle Inc team to contribute innovation, maximize efficiencies in our distribution, and ultimately, grow further into her professional career.

Velyka Camacho is fluent in English and Spanish and is in the process of learning Italian.

Commercial Business Coordinator

Ivan Lopez

Ivan joined the M&S team with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration at Florida International University and a background of 7 years in the produce industry.

During this time, he was able to get a thorough understanding of how the business operates at large, over-encompassing many areas of the business including, but not limited to customer service, finance, logistics, operations, and orders.

In this, Ivan was able to discover his inclination to crafting seamless operations and problem-solving to move the company forward. After gaining comprehensive knowledge of operational function in an established company, a new opportunity in a fast-paced growing environment was beaconing in a completely different industry to which he felt he had the chance to harness more experience, wine and spirits, where he would be able to bring to life his passion for finding new ways to solve problems, improving processes.

His experience allows him to apply foundational background knowledge toward an innovative workplace with the use of new strategies and technology amid increasing global challenges.

Marketing & Commercial Coordinator

Cristina Sarmiento

Cristina Sarmiento, a true Miami native, came to the MS team with a diverse background in the arts. Her creativity is rooted within her aging back to the time before she can stand on her own two feet. Before walking, she would dance by supporting herself upright with the wall. Since, she’s trained professionally in dance and music.

Graduating Magna Cum Laude, her strong inclination to the world of arts led her to seek higher education in areas of which she felt she can disseminate her intrinsic imagination through that of graphics and communication. To sharpen her skills and learn what became tools for marketing, she interned with a documentarian, wrote and published articles for newspapers, built campaigns for nonprofits, and learned how to code websites. On a full-paid scholarship, she began her studies in Journalism and Mass Communications, all the while meeting the demands of being an honors college student, later specializing in Public Relations and anthropology at the University of Florida.

Compliance Commercial Coordinator

Yadira Salemi

For the past 10 years, Yadira held a position as an Accounts Receivables Manager in the aviation insurance industry. During this time, she worked closely with the Lloyds of London market as well as major brokers in the U.K insurance landscape.

She wanted to expand herself in other business areas and found herself leaning toward a change in direction that involved something she loved, wine. Through her role, she is able to combine her extensive experience with transcontinental business and translate them into a fully functional and legal winery to market execution.

Logistics and Commercial Coordinator

Glenda Gomez

Born in Cuba, Glenda Gomez has now spent half her life in the United States. Graduating with honors from FIU, she earned a Finance & Supply Chain Management Bachelors. Her professional background is very eclectic, extending from industrial machinery, produce, and now to wines with the Mack & Schühle family.

Her professional journey started as a billing analyst for a company that exported different types of machinery for mining companies all over Latin America. Looking to further advance her career and expand her professional knowledge, while also learning the intricacies of logistics, Glenda decided to accept a position as an Operations Coordinator for a produce company specializing in pineapples. Though this proved to be a major change from her previous industry, Glenda excelled in her tasks and earned glowing reviews from her superiors. This led to her being transferred to the accounting department to continue the learning process within the company and she not only met the expectations but surpassed them.
Ready to take on yet another challenge, Glenda decided to join the wine industry and learn as much as she can about the whole process from vineyard to destination and become a productive, hard-working member of the M&S team. Due to her inquisitive nature and analytical mind, Glenda enjoys examining and solving all day-to-day situations that arise by finding out as much as possible about all the processes necessary to run operations seamlessly.

Continuing her academic journey, Glenda is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Forensic Accounting and Data Analytics.

Financial analyst & project specialist

Melissa Earnhardt

Melissa Earnhardt joined the Mack & Schuhle team in 2021 with 9 years of experience in the wine & spirits industry and a Master of Science in Accounting.

Before joining Mack & Schühle, her time at Surville Enterprises, a wine & spirits import management company, facilitated a proficient understanding of the industry. At Surville she worked her way from Accountant to Director of Finance & Operations where she was given the opportunity to expand her knowledge to other areas of the business ranging from operations management to financial analysis.

At Mack & Schuhle she has a dual but mutually symbiotic role of Financial Analyst & Project Specialist. In the challenges the world has been faced with the past two years, company efficiencies, process improvement and constant evolution are needed now more than ever. She is excited about being a part of this growth at Mack & Schuhle.

Commercial Business Coordinator

Christopher Carril

Chris has 7 years of experience working in accounting and operational roles in diverse industries ranging from trucking logistics to Brokerage firms.

Being a career driven person, Chris felt it was time for a new challenge. In his search for this, he happened to find Mack & Schühle that matched his work values and happen to involve something he enjoys, wine. He is a Miami native of Cuban descent. On his free time, he Enjoys kayaking and outdoor activities.